Light the Tower

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Football coverage has certainly evolved over the years. It seems just like yesterday that Tom Mees and Chris Berman were anchoring Sportscenter on my wall mounted television in my room during my high school years (thanks Pops - you rock). This was a superb era. Motley Crue was touring, Ozzy Osbourne could speak coherently, Nolan Ryan was in training preparing to kick Robin Ventura's ass in the coming years, MTV played music videos religiously, and there were far fewer cameras to provide us with the tidbits on the field as well as in the stands at our sporting venues....yep, times have certainly changed....

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A few things happened this past weekend: Los Angeles felt like Dubai in the middle of August, UCLA waltzed into Austin, TX and laid the wood to the Longhorns once again, the NFL's pass interference rules swung momentum in several games, oh...and I got married in Laguna Beach, CA. It's been a while, so let's get to it.......

Sunday, September 19, 2010

As a Longhorn fan, I recall being completely enamored by the Boise State Broncos while watching the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. You will recall that this is the game that put the Broncos on the map. They defeated a big time program that January day. They defeated an arch nemesis of Texas. They defeated a team full of Texas kids that somehow ($$$) left the Lone Star State to attend school in Norman, OK. They defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in what many consider to be one of the greatest college football games of all time. I am part of this group. They won with speed, execution, and trickery. My how times have changed...

Thursday, September 16, 2010

By now, most everyone has seen the clip of Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson's game winning touchdown grab. Yes, the end of the previous sentence completed with the "strikethrough" effect is quite applicable. It was criminal for Johnson's grab to be ruled incomplete. Is the NFL rules committee deliberately trying create havoc on a weekly basis? Um, hard to say after one week, but worth a harsh look after the break...

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

It is primary season as we prepare to head into November's elections, where the Republican party is expected to return to power in varying degrees. The Tea Party has made some impressive strides and let's face it, some shocking primary victories. In a large upset, Tea Party-backed candidate Christine O'Donnell whipped a veteran congressman for the Senate nomination in Delaware. A Tea Party backed gubernatorial candidate also won the race for New York Governor. Tea Party candidates also secured races in Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky and Alaska. While this may come as a surprise to some, what I am about to share with you is even more shocking. Follow along after the jump.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Well, here we are. We find ourselves in a situation that is completely unnecessary. Reggie Bush has acquiesced and made the prudent decision to return the Heisman Trophy which, he earned while being ineligible at USC. Will it go to Vince Young at this point, who finished second to Bush in the voting for college football's most prestigious award? Absolutely not. Should it? Possibly, but that is a debate for another day. Today, we are going to focus on why this situation was completely preventable.

In December 2005, Bush was awarded the Heisman Trophy over Vince Young and Bush teammate Matt Leinart. In January of 2006, Bush was largely overshadowed by Young in the BCS Championship Game, which resulted in Young's Longhorns defeating Bush's Trojans in what many argue as the greatest college football game of all time. Had the Heisman Trophy vote taken place after the bowl season, Young very well could have commandeered the infamous hardware away from Bush. Sadly, we will never know, and college football will not correct this shortcoming.

Statistics from Bowl games are included when looking at a player's overall performance during their college careers. It is a shame that the Heisman Committee chooses to ignore these games. For if they did not, Young very well could be holding today what is rightfully his.